Fedora’s Board majority shifts towards the community

Fedora Project Leader Paul Frields weighs in on the changes happening on the …

The Fedora Project Leader recently declared an increase of community-elected seats on the Board. The board now has one more community-elected member for a total of five out of nine total seats. Ostensibly, this gives the community more power to guide the direction Fedora moves in, but there are a couple twists. One of the community-elected members is currently a Red Hat employee; and the Chairman retains veto power over any decision the board makes.

From the outside, this gesture seems to have little impact, and needed more explanation. I went to the the Fedora Project Leader and newly appointed Chairman of the Board to find out more. Paul Frields kindly answered my questions, and regarding the change he said, "by turning over an extra seat to community election, Red Hat is recognizing the vital part that volunteers play in our project." He also mentioned, Red Hat on occasion will appoint community members to Board seats.

When asked how the board is generally split on tough decisions, he said that the Board has never been split with Redhat-appointed members and community-elected members on opposite sides of an issue. He also stated that no Fedora Project Leader has ever used veto power, saying it "requires so many other things to go wrong in the process that it's hard to imagine it ever being an issue."

After hearing from the Chairman himself, it is safe to say that this change in the board's composition is a move in the right direction. As Fedora matures, the community working behind the scenes will hopefully take a larger role in the decision making process.